The idea of a hypnotic riff as the prime mover of a piece of music has been around for a long time, whether you're talking about the Delta blues or music from Middle Eastern and African cultures.

My guitar style was developed during that 10-year period. That's me. That's the way I play, and I don't wish to play any other way. Our own individual identities are firmly stamped on this album.

When you hear the melodic structures of what classical musicians put together and you compare it to that of a rock & roll record, there's a hell of a long way rock & roll has to go.

I can only listen to what I'm working on, at the time. I can't listen to anything else because I don't want to copy it.

The beauty of the band was you never knew what was going to come out next.

I always felt if we were going in to do an album, there should already be a lot of structure already made up so we could get on with that and see what else happened.

Music can always be a life-changing experience, for musicians and fans, or at least life-affecting, but it depends on to what degree.